No Pain, No Gain?

Reality television may not be very real, but I have to admit that the controversy surrounding last week's episode of Bravo's "Workout" has even spilled into my own home. For those who don't watch the show, gym owner Jackie Warner and her office manger (Lisa) got caught making cracks about the fake boobs of one her trainer's clients -- only to find out the woman was a breast cancer survivor who had reconstructed breasts. (Lisa was the one who said it -- Jackie was sort of laughing and going along with it.)
Now, given what was shown on television (I'll address the editing rumors in a bit), I've been siding with Jackie who says Lisa apologized to the person who overheard the rude comments -- hey, shit happens, I know; if I had a dime for every time I got caught making fun of someone's lisp -- but then later refused to discuss the incident with the trainer (Brian Peeler) whose client was made fun of. Jackie ended up firing Brian when he wouldn't take no for an answer when she told him she would not discuss the issue with him further.

Since the heated episode aired last Tuesday, a petition has been started to get Jackie and the show removed from Bravo's schedule, and one of the show's main sponsors, Propel water (made by Gatorade), has reportedly dropped out. (I say reportedly because the alleged statement from the company doesn't even seem to know the correct name of the show, referring to it instead as "The Workout.")

So here's the thing: Jackie's "clearing the air" statement to fans unveiled yet another layer of the reality TV myth: It turns out the trainers who "work" there aren't even her real staff. (I actually thought it was plausible that they put a camera inside a Beverly Hills gym and all the trainers happened to be extremely photogenic, but no.) It turns out they were CAST to be on THE SHOW -- so right off the bat I have a lot of sympathy for Jackie because it was obvious they put Good Ole Southern Boy Brian Peeler in there just to drum up trouble. (To me, Peeler obviously has a problem with lesbians, hence Jackie's wariness.)
That being said, I do not think Brian was AT ALL out of line for asking to speak to Jackie about what happened -- it was his client after all -- and I agree with her detractors that it would have been far more professional of Jackie to hear Brian out and handle the situation more professionally. But at the end of the day she does OWN the gym so she does MAKES THE RULES. Listen, if I went into my boss's office and told him I wanted to talk about something I thought he'd done "wrong" and he got defensive and told me he had addressed the issue and wasn't going to talk about it with me, I feel like I would have to accept that. But I feel like because she's a woman, Jackie is being held to a different standard than any male boss -- let alone OWNER -- would be. (Like it or not, she doesn't have to explain herself to Brian Peeler or any other subordinate if she doesn't want to. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to work there.) And getting back to the editing rumor, some people are saying that Jackie may have been the one who actually made the fake boob comment (she denies this completely and says things were edited to make the whole atmosphere look more negative than it really is) and got her office manager to take the fall. Even if this were the case, the apologize was made -- so that's still not really any of Brian's business. In my eyes, the fact that the person who overheard the comment (people aren't allowed to talk in their own offices?) ran to Brian and told him about it reflects poorly on this person -- who happens to be the cancer survivor's boyfriend. (Did he tell her, too?)

Michael completely disagrees with me on all of these points. I can't hardly wait for tonight's episode. Michael and I may not be speaking anymore by week's end!

(I also have major issues with the way Gregg treated Queen of Excuses Deenie. My friend Micah happens to be one of the fellow cast mates on the show and has more on that over on his blog.)